That wasn’t Windor’s voice. It was the voice of the Dark Sorceress.
“Stay where you are!” Adriane ordered, silver fire coiling up her arm.
“Your wolf looks quite healthy,” Windor sneered, drool hanging from her lip. “As does your jewel.”
“Let Windor go,” Adriane commanded.
“How else was I supposed to get to you? Your dreamcatcher is stronger than ever.”
“What do you want?”
Mrs. Windor lumbered closer to Adriane and Dreamer. “I have something for you.”
A brilliant gem lay in her open hands.
Adriane stepped back, the power crystal bathing her tanned face in light. “What kind of trick is this?”
“No trick, warrior.” Windor held out the power crystal. “You have no idea what I risk to bring this crystal to you.”
“I’m touched.” Adriane could not keep her eyes off of the amazing crystal.
“She’s insane, you know.” The sorceress’s voice grated against Windor’s throat.
“Takes one to know one.”
“We are both served by keeping the power of Avalon out of the witch’s hands.”
Adriane broke her gaze away. “I don’t believe you.”
“You have done what I have only dreamed about,” the sorceress said softly. “Taken the magic of the mistwolves. But what lies inside the Gates of Avalon is far more dangerous than you can imagine. You think your animals can balance the magic, but each time you use it, there is a price to pay.” Windor’s eyes glared fire, burning into Adriane’s soul. “You cannot have magic without loss. That is the only balance.”
Adriane listened intently–she had known the dizzying loneliness, the aching and grieving of what it meant to lose what she loved most.
“You asked me what I have lost in my quest for magic,” the sorceress hissed. “Everything—even my own sister.”
Moonlight cast shimmering beams over the demented figure.
“Why are you telling me this?” Adriane finally asked.
“There may be a way for us to work together to save Avalon.”
“You are insane!”
It was hard to believe this was coming from the enemy who had nearly destroyed the mistwolves, her friends, and the entire world of Aldenmor.
Yet the crystal was the real thing, she knew it.
“Go ahead, take it.” The sorceress’s voice oozed like honey.
Dreamer growled as Adriane cautiously stepped forward and grabbed the crystal. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but whatever it is, my friends and I will be ready.”
“We’ll see.” The sorceress’s smile cracked Windor’s face into a ghoulish grin.
With a flash, Windor blinked. Horrified, she looked around and took off, screaming into the night.
Adriane took a deep breath, her hands closing around the warm facets of the power crystal.
“Into the great unknown,” she murmured, kneeling by Dreamer’s side.
Her packmate nodded, his emerald eyes bright with magic. Dreamer scanned the portal field one last time, then trotted back toward the cottage.
The warrior followed her packmate into the dark forest, the magic of Avalon lighting her way.
A sylph is a rare and powerful fairy creature who guards special magical places. Orenda is made of pure earth magic. As the Spirit of Ravenswood, she spreads magic throughout the forest to make it strong and healthy. He animals of Aldenmor, Phel, and the mage were all drawn to Ravenswood by this strong guardian.
A protector sylph twisted by dark magic. The tainted sylph drains magic from the place it has nurtured and loved, transforming into a force of utter destruction. The demon will not stop until the magic is completely gone.
Creatures that dwell primarily in the astral planes, but can also be found in the Otherworlds. Twisted by dark magic, these creatures are mere shadowy remnants of their former physical forms. They use fear as a weapon and are voracious hunters who feed on magic.
The source of mistwolf magic, the spirit pack is made of the pure essence of every mistwolf who ever lived. Through their magic, living mistwolves are able top tap into memories going back thousands of years. The spirit pack runs the spirit trail, a magical pathway that crisscrosses the astral planes and leads to the shores of Avalon itself.
THE FIRST RAYS of dawn cast a twinkling pink haze over the boat.
In the dim shadows, the woman smiled dangerously. “You are a healer. You can learn to see the magic itself, shape it however you desire.”
Emily felt the hair on the back of her neck rise up. Deep inside she knew this wasn’t quite right, but if she didn’t do something, the last of the sea dragons were going to die. A true healer would risk anything to save those animals.
Emily faced the woman. “Show me.”
Miranda shifted her gaze to the still form of Indi. “Start with what you know.”
“I can’t. He ate my jewel,” Emily reminded her.
“You should be glad. You’re free now.”
Concentrating, Emily stared at Indi. But all she saw was a purple ball. Her hazel eyes stung with frustrated tears.
“This is crazy! I can’t see anything.”
“You couldn’t see the thoughts of the trolls, yet you manipulated them. Look harder, below the surface.”
Emily felt Miranda’s voice in her mind, guiding her like she’d done back at the bazaar. The healer looked through the purple scales and toes, sensing something beyond Indi’s physical appearance. She reached out, feeling the magic of her jewel emanating from the purple ball.
Suddenly Indi began to pulse with rainbow lights, as if a switch had been turned on. The blues and greens of her healing gem seemed to come from inside out, swirling around him in a glittering halo. It mixed with Indi’s own purple magic. Something she’d always felt, but had never been able to see before.
“I see it,” she breathed.
“Every creature has a magical aura.” Miranda gently turned the girl toward the ocean. “Now look.”
In a heartbeat, Emily felt the vastness of the ocean surround her. Brilliant flares gleamed beneath the surface, blinking to the horizon and beyond.
Miranda smiled, eyes ablaze, drawing the healer alongside her. “Open yourself to their magic.”
Exquisite auras danced around her like threads of woven starlight. She was seeing the magic of all the animals in the ocean!
“You are a healer. You can touch all animals.”
Strands of light shone from each animal’s aura, blurring into a kaleidoscope of shifting magic, dissolving, re-forming. Reaching out in her mind, Emily grasped the strands.
“Now weave the magic together into a new pattern, one of your own design.”
Was it really so easy, as Miranda said, to take that magic and use it however she desired? Emily gathered the glowing strands and began weaving them into a new pattern—a web.
“That’s it. Now use your web to find the strongest magic.”
The healer reached deeper, following the strands to the web’s center. Brilliant magic swirled in blues, greens, and silver, dazzling her senses. Hundreds of objects gleamed in a place of liquid light—jewels! The stones pulsed and sparkled with magic beyond her wildest dreams!
Raw magical energy surged along her web, drawn to the healer’s touch. Suddenly, the bright lights morphed to a deep red, seeping like blood as the frightening realization hit. It wasn’t just Meerka and the other sea dragons that were sick. It was every creature in the ocean!
“Healer!”
One voice sounded in her mind, then another, and another, growing into a deafening chorus.
“Help us!”
“See how they come to you,” Miranda’s voice rose excitedly.
The rush of magic was overwhelming. Emily was so deeply connected, she couldn’t distinguish between her own feelings and those of the thousands of animals caught in her web of magic. There were so many lost and hurt, desperate for help. How could she heal them all?
Still, they came to her, giving their magic freely, trusting Emily, the healer.
“What should I do?” Emily cried out.
“You’ve already done it.”
The woman’s smile curled into a vicious sneer.
Pain struck like a sledgehammer as Miranda wrenched the magic from Emily.
Panicked screams exploded in her head.
“What are you doing to them?”
And then, it hit her. Miranda wasn’t doing anything. It was Emily taking the magic of all these innocent creatures, draining their very life-force. And Miranda, in turn, was taking it from her. Using her.
Like wildfire, the power grew as more and more animals became caught in the web of Emily’s awesome power.
“It’s time you learned the truth.”
The woman stood in front of her, arms spread wide as glowing strands swirled around her, rising into an inferno of power as she fed on the magic Emily had gathered.
“Great magic comes through pain. This is your magic, healer!”
Emily struggled to focus, but she was losing, drowning in the agony of the animals.
“Help me!” Emily tried to scream.
But there was no Emily.
Only the nightmare of a girl out of control, using the full force of her magic to destroy all that she loved most.
Ghost Wolf (Avalon: Web of Magic #9) Page 16
